15 Plugins to Power Your Blog

01 Nov 2008

I know people like lists, and just like the rest of you I really like lists that help me manage and optimize my blog. I am a huge believer in plugins for WordPress because they not only make my job easier, but they can really improve the functionality and look of a site.

This list is comprised of my 15 favorite plugins and it has taken me nearly a year to find and test them all. I hope they work for you as well as they have for me. Now, without further adieu and in no particular order…the list:

Utility Plugins

WordPress Automatic Upgrade has become one of the most important plugins on my blog because I am not the best database or code guy. This plugin makes upgrading WordPress a wonderful and easy process and gives you the chance to create backups along the way. How many of you actually keep backups? Well you should!
WordPress Stats is a huge plugin for me because it offers nearly real-time stats for blog visitors and traffic. I’ve got to admit that I am an analytics junkie and knowing how my blogs are doing moment to moment is a huge bonus for me. I love this plugin. (You’ll need your API key to use this one)
WordPres All In One SEO is a hugely popular plugin for a variety of reasons. It is so popular that you probably already have it, but just in case you don’t, grab it! This plugin turnes an ordinary blog into an SEO machine and gives you the options to rewrite titles, categories, headings, etc. Fully functional, this plugin will help you bring tons of organic traffic to your blog.
Ultimate Google Analytics is a great plugin for those of you that use Google Analytics. Simply install the plugin, enter your UA code, and you are off and tracking. Analytics made easy.
Feedburner Feedsmith Plugin: Use this to easily link the RSS feed on your blog to your Feedburner feed. Simply enter the URL and you are good to go.
Google XML-Sitemaps is the easiest way I’ve found to create a sitemap for your WordPress blog. Features include being able to build or rebuild the sitemap on the fly. Set this up and visit Google Webmaster Tools to submit your sitemap.
My Link Order is a plugin that I didn’t know I needed until I needed it. I don’t like how WordPress automatically orders your links, so I found this to let you arrange categories and links on your own.
Pagemash is one of my favorite plugins because it has saved my ass time and time again. Some WP themes automatically add tapbs or links for pages, and unless you enjoy modifying code, there is no way to fix it. Pagemash lets you hide pages so that they will only be linked where and when you want them. You can also create a parent/child relationship. This plugin is a lifesaver.
The UBD Block Ad Plugin is essential for those of you that use 125×125 ads on your blog. There is no easy way to manage them without modifying code unless you’ve got something like this. This plugin lets you choose how many ads are shown and even lets you link to an advertising page.
WP-Post Views is a popular post plugin that lets you show the most popular post on the sidebar. This plugin comes with both the code and a widget that you can easily use to display popular posts. You can see it in action on my right sidebar.

Community Building Plugins

WorPress Related Posts plugin is invaluable for keeping people on your blog digging through your posts. It inserts itself at the end of every post and shares the links of your similar posts based on tags and keywords.
WP Easy Gravatar: Gravatars are those cool little pictures you see in the comment fields that help your comments stand out. If you don’t have a Gravatar, get one, but then install this plugin. You can see my Gravatar next to each comment on this and other blogs.
CommentLuv is a very important plugin because it helps bloggers wherever it is installed. When readers leave comments, it looks for their latest post on their home page and shares the link in the comment. So, when I comment on your blog, my latest post shows up to build back links, and when you comment on my blog you can do the same. It spreads the love, nuff said.
ShareThis: Essential plugin for making it easy on your readers to share your content. A simple installation lets your people share posts and pages on a variety of social bookmarking sites. It also includes optional stats.
Tweet My Blog is a cool little addition for all you Twitter users. If you aren’t using Twitter, what are you thinking? Anway, this little plugin automatically tweets your posts when you publish them. The only issue I’ve found is that it doesn’t work if you use delayed publish options.

Well there you have it, 15 of my favorite plugins that you can use to power up your blog into overdrive. Let me know what you think by commenting below.

By the way, have you gotten my free E-Book yet?